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Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - III. Population and Migration - 7. Population - 7. Birth Control Facilities for Negroes
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Chapter 7. Population 181
accessible devices for birth control and venereal prophylaxis than the ones
usually prescribed by physicians/®
Of course special cases do require medical attention, and all persons
should be told to see a doctor if possible/^ Medical advice will always be
an asset in getting over improved techniques of birth control, in adjusting
individual problems and in securing general health improvement. But
there is no need for all people to refrain from birth control or prophylaxis
until they have seen a doctor. So far contraception has been most successful
on a mass basis among city people who learn about simple methods from
their friends, not from doctors. What city Negroes now know—as evidenced
by their low birth rate—merely needs to be told to country Negroes. The
birth control organizations can do this more effectively, more speedily, and
more scientifically, than can rumors and jokes.
The main reason for advocating this shift in emphasis is that mass
instruction and propaganda reach more people in less time and at lower
cost than the clinics run by doctors and nurses.*^^ The need for birth control
is common, and is only slightly touched by present activities, despite their
high cost. If birth control is to achieve mass utilization, there must be a
shift in emphasis from time-consuming and expensive instruction of indi-
viduals to a speedy and inexpensive education of groups. And there should
not only be groups of women, but also groups of men. Birth control is
fundamentally a simple matter, and it calls for adult education before
clinical consultation.
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